NPC Nationals 2014: Miami Soft! - Prejudging Report
2014 NPC Nationals: Miami Soft
The Day Condition Took A Hike
With 215 entrants participating in the men’s bodybuilding section of this year’s Nationals staged at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami the countdown chatter was that we were in for a vintage Nationals. But out of that horde of competitors only a handful were in true contest shape. This lack of condition in depth has become an all too common at the Nationals and the USA’s of late. So why do so many amateurs turn up at contests as ready as an on court Turkey on Thanksgiving day? A personal theory is that part of the syndrome is because condition is so much the number one commodity they try way too hard to attain it and end up doing too many manipulations too late in the day to achieve that lock. But maybe that's a subject for wider discussion at some future date.
The prejudging took 5 ½ hours (longer than a Kardashian marriage) and it’s only half time, as only 50% of the marks were awarded this afternoon with the other 50% being awarded tomorrow night. Here’s a quick guide to what occurred at prejudging.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
The battle here seems to be between Robert Freeman Jr. and James Shumpert. Overall Freeman had more muscle and a better flow to his physique while Shumpert had better condition.
LIGHTWEIGHTS
In this class Terrance Ruffin caught the eye with his classy physique and showmanship.
WELTERWEIGHTS
Here Santiago Aragon was a clear winner. He was heavily muscled, particularly in the legs and was the most shredded in the whole contest.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
David Paterik was best conditioned while Tank Moore packed greater muscle. Two to watch for the future are Fraijan Texidor and Lloyd Herford III.
LIGHT HEAVIES
Initially Cane Bishop stood out but wasn’t included in first callout. It seemed Arthur Reed was leading the charge toward the title.
HEAVYWEIGHTS
To me this division was a head-scratcher. David Fenty had the craziest muscle in the whole show (apart from maybe Michael Lockett in the supers) but it doesn’t look as he will make top five. Then I would have had Allen Kuhl followed by Jermain Bell. However it looks like Dominic Cardone may be first or second, but as impressive as he is for a 21 year old, I saw him out of top three.
SUPER HEAVYWEIGHTS
This saw Michael Lockett return to action and he looked phenomenal. He was so much thicker and rounder muscled than anyone with crazy hanging hams. However during the prejudging Alexis Rivera-Roton moved into contention by being placed in the center. He has a fine physique with better back detail than Lockett so we shall see.
TUNE BACK IN TO MUSCULARDEVELOPMENT.COM TOMORROW NIGHT WHEN THE EVENING FINALS BEGIN AT 5.00PM EST.
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